The Maine Policy Institute, formerly the Maine Heritage Policy Center, is a conservative free-market

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

located in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. According to its mission statement, the Maine Policy Institute is "nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts detailed and timely research to educate the public, the media, and lawmakers about public policy solutions that advance economic freedom and individual liberty in Maine." The organization has an associated media outlet, ''The Maine Wire.''

Leadership

Matthew Gagnon Matthew Owen Gagnon (born December 10, 1980) is an American think tank executive, political strategist and writer from Maine. He is the chief executive officer of the Maine Policy Institute, a free market think tank based in Portland, Maine. He p ...

is the CEO of Maine Policy Institute. The board includes Peter Anania, Timothy J. Bryant, W. R. Jackson, Jr., Jeff Kane, James Ward, Thomas Connolly, Laurence Rubinstein, Susan Dench, Jason Oney, Scott Wellman, Neal Freeman, and Jinger Duryea.

Activities

In 2006, Maine Policy Institute was prominently involved in the unsuccessful campaign for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) in Maine. In August 2011, Maine Policy Institute and the Maine chapter of

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States funded by Charles Koch and formerly his brother David. As the Koch brothers' primary political advocacy group, it is one ...

distributed a videotape produced by conservative activist

James O'Keefe James Edward O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American political activist and provocateur who founded Project Veritas, a far-right activist group that uses deceptive editing techniques to attack mainstream media organizations and progr ...

which "hint dat"

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

fraud. Maine Policy Institute has been involved in policy debates over issues such as government spending, welfare reform, and Maine's pension debt. The ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig and ...

'' reported that critics of the organization have faulted Maine Policy Institute for publishing the salaries of state employees while declining to release the names of the organization's donors. MHCP is a member of the

State Policy Network The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advises ...

(SPN). In 2013, Maine Policy Institute initiated a tax proposal for Maine's poorest area, Washington County. According to the proposal, "residents and businesses would cease to pay state income taxes or collect sales taxes until economic conditions reach the statewide average and stay there for three years running." A grant proposal supporting the initiative to was submitted to SPN. Since 2013, Maine Policy Institute has published healthcare transparency data on the website CompareMaine.org. The website lists, by Maine hospital, how much different procedures cost for patients. Maine Policy Institute has opposed the

Common Core State Standards Initiative The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

and called for the

Maine Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...

to allow parents to opt their children out of standardized tests. In 2014, Maine Policy Institute laid out an agenda for conservative policymaking in Maine. It included a push for welfare reform, making Maine a right-to-work state, a change in Maine's constitution to see the attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer popularly elected, and tax cuts. In 2016, the organization published its ''Piglet Book'', a book chronicling wasteful government spending in Maine. The organization wrote that while Maine has made some progress, “state spending is still far larger than it should be, or would be if only Augusta took our spending seriously.” The ''Piglet Book'' had last been published in 2012. Maine Policy Institute opposes ranked choice voting.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.mainepolicy.org
Organizational Profile
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National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops st ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

) Conservative organizations in the United States Political and economic think tanks in the United States Politics of Maine